Attributes of Allah – The Preserver

The lecture speaks about God the Preserver and His continuous care for people and the Church. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III cites verses from the Psalms and examples from the Bible and the lives of saints to show that God is the Preserver who spares us from every evil, protects our going out and coming in, and preserves faith even in trials and persecutions.

Main idea

• God the Preserver is present in all aspects of our life: physical, spiritual, and material.

• Divine preservation appears in Psalm verses and God’s promises to the apostles and prophets, and in preservative miracles from the Old and New Testaments.

• Examples include Moses, Joseph, Daniel, the three youths in the fiery furnace, Abraham and Isaac, Paul and Peter, Saint Anthony, and others.

• Preservation is not limited to protecting the body from harm only; it includes preserving faith, holiness, and steadfastness in affliction.

Spiritual and educational dimension (from a Coptic Orthodox perspective)

• A call to rely on God and to be reassured by His presence: repeating Psalm verses and remembering that the Lord “preserves your going out and your coming in.”

• Understanding preservation as a grace that prevents what might come before it appears, protecting us from visible and invisible dangers.

• Emphasis that there are spiritual battles against demons but God shortens the days or restrains the devil’s influence for the sake of the elect.

• The Church’s preservation throughout history from heresies and persecutions is proof of God’s continual care for the Body of Christ.

Practical and spiritual exhortation

• Encouragement to give thanks: to return and thank the Lord after being delivered from dangers, and to remember preservation before asking for healing after injuries.

• Keeping vigilance of faith: keeping the spiritual eye open and acknowledging God’s constant presence “for He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

• Asking for increase of faith when weak: the prayer “Lord, help my lack of faith” and relying on His preservation even if our faith is little.

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